Metaprotella Mayer, 1890

Takeuchi, Ichiro & Lowry, James K., 2007, Description of Metaprotella haswelliana (Mayer, 1882) (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidae) from Western Australia with designation of a neotype, Zootaxa 1466, pp. 11-18 : 12

Genus Metaprotella Mayer, 1890

Diagnosis. Head fused (suture present) with pereonite 1. Antenna 1 well developed; flagellum with more than 2 articles. Antenna 2 well developed; flagellum with 2 articles. Mandible well developed; molar present, well developed; palp 3-articulate, setal formula 1-x-y-1 or 1-x- 1. Maxilliped well developed; inner plate (basal endite) smaller than outer plate (ischial endite); outer plate (ischial endite) well developed; palp article 3 with distal projection; palp article 4 well developed. Pereonite 4 clavate appendage absent. Pereonites 6 and 7 completely fused (dorsal suture absent). Pereopod 3 vestigial; with 1 article. Pereopod 4 vestigial; with 1 article. Pereopod 5 well developed, with 7 articles, with sparse, short setae and well developed dactylus. Pereopods 6 and 7 well developed, with 7 articles. Gills on pereonites 3 and 4. Pleopods absent. Uropods 2 pairs; biarticulate, uniramous and vestigial. Telson (dorsal lobe) present.

Type Species. Protella Haswelliana Mayer, 1882 , by monotypy.

Remarks. The diagnosis of the Metaprotella is modified from that provided by Takeuchi (1993) and Larsen (1997). Recently Takeuchi & Lowry (unpubl.) have developed a generic and species level DELTA database for New South Wales caprelloid taxa. The diagnostic description of Metaprotella is generated from this database, based only on the type species, M. haswelliana . Since pereopods 5 to 7 are missing from all the specimens of M. haswelliana ( Mayer, 1882) , the diagnosis of pereopod 5 is inferred from the descriptions of Metaprotella sandalensis Mayer, 1898 (see Müller 1990; Laubitz 1991) and M. unguja Larsen, 1997 (see Larsen 1997); both species were well described in the last two decades.